The Journey of Faith
Acts 9:1-22
Background Story
• The church is flourishing in Jerusalem,
• But resistance is intensifying,
• It’s all starting to come to a head following the death of Stephen,
• Stephen can be viewed as the church’s first martyr.
• And after he is killed a great persecution starts,
• And the main person who is fueling this is a Pharisee by the name of Saul
Now In Acts 8:1-3 we see that
• Saul went from house to house, arresting men and women
• And these people were Jesus-followers.
• Because of this people started getting scared and the church scattered
• They left and went to places throughout Judea and Samaria.
• Some of these people were so freaked out that they ran as far away as Damascus,
• And that was 130 miles away to the north.
• (ELAB HOW LONG AND FAR THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN)
And Saul, was on a mission
• He didn’t want to see Christianity thrive anywhere,
• So he headed north to Damascus and started arresting disciples
• And he started bringing them back to Jerusalem for trial.
• And It’s on this obsessive mission to Damascus
• That Saul is intercepted by God’s grace.
Saul was a man who had no idea he needed grace.
• He was born into an observant Jewish home,
• He was circumcised as an infant,
• He was a faithful and enterprising Pharisee.
• And He was a zealous defender of his religion.
• When it came to the legalities of the Jewish law,
• His behavior was faultless.
When we look at Saul he appears to be
• A successful, religious, righteous, self-made man,
• Who’s doing just fine meeting the requirements of the law
• And living as a shining example of purity and justice in his community.
So, why did Saul need grace? - And, why do we need grace?
This is a good question
• If you’ve lived a pretty good life,
• If you’ve play by the rules,
• If you’ve done a good job raising your kids
• If you’ve gone to church regularly,
• And you’ve never really had any major slipups in your life,
Why would you really need grace?
• And how would God’s grace impact your life?
The question that we might ask is
• Have you had a transformational encounter with grace?
• Saul’s had an encounter with GRACE
• And that encounter was so great that it changed him so much that he had to change his name
• He was no longer the same person
• We went from being Saul of Taurus into Paul the Apostle.
• And it was through this transformation process
• That Paul eventually realized that friendship with God is not earned,
• But received by faith.
MSG
Philippians 7-9The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I'm tearing up and throwing out with the trash—along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I've dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn't want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ—God's righteousness.
Philippians 3:9 (CEV)
I could not make myself acceptable to God by obeying the Law of Moses.
God accepted me simply because of my faith in Christ.
Question: So How can we experience a life-altering encounter with God’s grace?
1. We become aware of our own sin
Acts 9:1-6 (NLT)
1 Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers. So he went to the high priest. 2 He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them—both men and women—back to Jerusalem in chains.
3 As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”
5 “Who are you, lord?” Saul asked. And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! 6 Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
Now when Saul stands up he’s physically blind,
• But even though he couldn’t see a hand in front of his face
• I believe that he is seeing for the first time.
• He sees that he was fighting God instead of serving him.
• He sees that Jesus is the resurrected Lord and not a fake.
• And He sees that he has been the cancer in the synagogue,
• And it wasn’t the Christian believers.
A life-altering encounter with God’s grace
• Starts when we become aware of the horrifying reality of our own sinfulness.
• About just how sinful we are (Put on blindfold)
Illustrations
-Church splits (believe they are doing right)
-Living for family while losing family (ministry over family)
-Good Christian mom who is bitter towards ex-husband
It is an act of God’s grace when he makes us aware of our own sin.
2. We are awakened to God’s mercy
Acts 9:10-19 (NLT)
10 Now there was a believer in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, calling, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord!” he replied.
11 The Lord said, “Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now.
12 I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again.”
13 “But Lord,” exclaimed Ananias, “I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem! 14 And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon your name.”
15 But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. 16 And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”
17 So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
18 Instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized. 19 Afterward he ate some food and regained his strength.
Saul, the man who has been fighting God without realizing it,
• Is treated mercifully by God. (Parable of lost sheep, prodigal son)
Illustration
John Newton was born in London, almost a half a century before the American Revolution,
• His mother possessed incredible spiritual qualities
• But unfortunately she died when he was six.
• Five years later at the age of 11 he went to sea with his father who was a ship’s captain.
• He became a midshipman and for a time led a pretty wild life,
• In fact his life was filled with disgrace.
• He rejected the God that his mother had taught him about
• In fact he didn’t think that there was any need for religion whatsoever
• And because of this he continued to live an irresponsible and sinful life.
• Eventually he became a slave trader,
• And his travels allowed him to cross the ocean several times
• As captain of a slave ship,
• He was responsible for terrible acts of human degradation
• Among the captives he had crowded on board.
• But grace was always a factor in his life.
• He survived a deadly fever in Africa,
• His ship survived a terrible storm which almost killed him.
• And finally one day he was so dissatisfied with his life,
• That he began reading the writings of Thomas à Kempis.
• Somehow, the Holy Spirit began stirring inside his soul,
• It began to awaken him from sin,
• Urging him toward salvation until he finally gave his heart to Christ.
His conversion was so powerful it mirrored that of Sauls
• And he felt a call from God to enter the ministry.
• He was eventually ordained in 1781
• And accepted a pastorate in Olney, England.
• But Newton’s disgraceful past never left his memory
• And he was completely dumbfounded over the privilege of living
• Free under the divine grace of God.
• In an intense moment of inspiration,
• When he was thinking about the wonder of the grace of God
• That had saved even a wretch like him,
• He wrote the hymn, "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound."
3. We are made alive to our new calling
Acts 9:20-22 (NLT)
20 And immediately he began preaching about Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is indeed the Son of God!” 21 All who heard him were amazed. “Isn’t this the same man who caused such devastation among Jesus’ followers in Jerusalem?”
Didn’t he come here to arrest them and take them in chains to the leading priests?” 22 Saul’s preaching became more and more powerful, and the Jews in Damascus couldn’t refute his proofs that Jesus was indeed the Messiah.
(And it wasn’t the Jews, but the Gentiles)
This is a fulfillment of what was promised to Abraham,
• The father of the Jewish people where in Genesis 12:3 it says,
• That all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.
Saul is given a calling and a purpose and a mission.
• Saul the persecutor became Paul the Apostle.
• Eventually he would travel thousands of miles
• Just to bring the message of Jesus to the Mediterranean world.
• The result is that our New Testament contains thirteen of his letters.
A life-altering encounter with God’s grace will make us alive to a new calling!
• It’s through His grace that we will be transformed as well
• Transformed from being materialistic to giving with gracious generosity.
• It’s through his gracious forgiveness
• That we will be transform our lingering resentment to forgiveness of others.
• And it’s through His undeserved mercy
• That we will be transformed from our suffocating anxiety to a life of prayer and trust.
His undeserved love fills our reservoir so we don’t have to fill it ourselves
• We don’t have to try and fill it with self-centered pursuits,
• And it’s out of this God supplied reservoir that we can love others by serving them.
• When we encounter God’s mercy for ourselves,
• It allows us to unleashes mercy for others.
Ephesians 2:8-10 (NLT)
8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
2 Corinthians 5:15 (NLT)
He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.
So today as we get ready to close all I have to ask is
• Have you truly encountered God’s grace?
• Has he revealed to you the depth of your sin?
• Has he awakened you to the miracle of his mercy?
• Has he offered you a new and fuller life
• By giving you a calling of a richer sort than you have been pursuing?
And are you will to take Him up on his offer.
